BUREAUCRACY – AUSTRALIA

Top-heavy bureaucracy needs efficiency, not cuts

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 25-Mar-25

Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher believes that the federal public service is "roughly the right size now", at about 209,000 people. A former head of the Australian Public Service Commission, Andrew Podger, agrees that the number of public servants is "probably about right". However, he says there are inefficiencies in the public service that must be addressed; amongst other things, Podgers contends that the number of deputy secretaries is too high, while some bureaucrats are paid too much. The federal government has increased the public service head count by about 36,000 since taking office in May 2022.

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AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

Services won’t improve, says union

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 6 : 6-Dec-19

The Community & Public Sector Union has criticised the federal government’s decision to streamline the bureaucracy. CPSU national secretary Melissa Donnelly warns that reducing the number of government departments will do nothing to improve the provision of government services. Donnelly notes that the Coalition has axed 18,908 public service jobs since it gained office in 2013, and she has urged the government to lift the average staffing level cap.

CORPORATES
COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Get lean: PM wields the axe

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Original article by Simon Benson, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 6-Dec-19

The Coalition has reduced the number of federal government departments from 18 to 14 as part of a broader overhaul of the public service. Amongst other things, the Department of Communications will be merged with the infrastructure portfolio, while the energy and resources portfolio will be folded into the industry and science portfolio. Five departmental secretaries will be retrenched as a result of the overhaul, while sources have indicated that the Coalition also intends to slash the number of government agencies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE AND WATER RESOURCES, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION

Adani-style red tape tops Canberra’s hit-list

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 5-Aug-19

The federal government will announce on 5 August that the Productivity Commission will be asked to examine the approvals process for resource projects. This coincides with the announcement by Ben Morton, the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, of his intention to adopt a sector-by-sector approach to abolishing unnecessary regulation. Morton says he expects businesses to pass on any benefits that result from this review to the broader economy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ADANI MINING PTY LTD

Rinehart warns of collapse in investment

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 14-Nov-17

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart has expressed concern that the compliance burden and excessive bureaucracy pose a major threat to future investment in Australia’s mining industry and other sectors of the economy. She has called for an overhaul of the nation’s three levels of government, arguing that there is too much duplication of red tape at federal, state and local council level. Rinehart has also urged greater support for National Mining and Related Industries Day, noting that it does not receive the same amount of recognition as National Agriculture Day.

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HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, NATIONAL FARMERS’ FEDERATION LIMITED, FAIRFAX AGRICULTURAL MEDIA

Miners see progress but call for more cuts to red tape

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 21 : 23-Oct-14

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and parliamentary secretary for deregulation Josh Frydenberg on 22 October 2014 unveiled a move to abolish 7,000-plus pages of unnecessary legislation, in a further bid by the Government to reduce "red tape". However the Minerals Council of Australia, while welcoming the initiative, also issued a report that outlines areas where more reforms are still needed. These include industrial relations, environmental approvals and rules governing cabotage. It notes that from late 2007 to mid-2013 only 297 ­federal acts were repealed but 874 new ones rolled out

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Tide of regulation is still coming in, directors warn

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth, Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 23 : 21-Oct-14

A business leaders’ forum has heard that despite recent positive efforts by the Australian Government, the burden of excessive regulation is still increasing. Among the examples cited was the likely tightening of capital requirements for banks after the financial system inquiry hands down its report. It was also noted that many smaller companies are better served by abandoning a sharemarket listing and instead operating in the less restrictive privately-held sector. However others argued that corporate boards must adapt to changing values and expectations to remain relevant in modern society

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FINANCIAL REPORTING COUNCIL, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGK, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, EVANS AND PECK PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, BEYOND BANK AUSTRALIA, COMMUNITY CPS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, EQUITY TRUSTEES LIMITED – ASX EQT, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. CORPORATIONS AND MARKETS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

High cost of ‘green tape’ to economy

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 19 : 18-Aug-14

A new study has been commissioned from BAEconomics by the Minerals Council of Australia. The special interest group will argue that the research shows so-called green tape will hold up developments that could otherwise add some 69,000 jobs to the economy by 2015, unless state and federal governments act to reduce the bureaucratic burden. The Department of Employment recently also forecast that 16,000-plus workers would be made redundant in the half-decade to 2018 in the areas of exploration as well as metal ore and coal mining, after 106,700 positions had been created in the previous five years

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, BAECONOMICS PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, BG GROUP PLC, QUEENSLAND GAS COMPANY LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION